Valve lift attachments



Nov. 19, 1963 Filed March 12, l9 62 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Z 4 r 30 s 1 I I S \5 Z INVENTOR 2/ F 1 L/ 16 #146527 144 W's/MA F/G. 5 BY W a. 2W1,

ATT NEY Nov. 19, 1963 A. w. WEIMAN VALVE LIFT ATTACHMENTS Filed March 12, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet :2

IN V EN TOR.

ALBERT h/WE/MAN 4 Tree/vs) United States Patent 3,111,118 VALVE LIFT ATTACHMENTS Aihert W. Weiman, 1157 Halloran Sh, Cahokia, Ill. Filed Mar.12, 1962, Ser. No. 178,986 8 Claims. (Cl. 123-90) This invention relates generally to mechanical valve lift attachments used in internal combustion engines and more particularly to such attachment for use in the auto motive field.

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide a purely mechanical valve lift attachment suitable for mounting in the engine block of an automobile for directly cooperating with a rotating cam therein to control valve operation, to increasethe efiiciency of the engine, and simultaneously to retain continued contact between the rocker arm and the valve stem during all phases of engine operation.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a valve lift attachment of the type stated which readily and immediately converts the response of the valve to the cam in an ordinary engine to a response similar to the response of a'valve to a racing type cam in a racing engine.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a valve lift attachment of the type stated suitable for operation beneath the oil level in the engine.

With the above and other objects in view, which will become apparent, upon reading the following description, my invention resides in the novel features of form, construction, arrangement and combination of parts presently described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of my invention as embodied in an automotive engine, parts of the automotive engine being cut away for clarity;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional vieW taken along lines 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along lines 33 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along lines 44 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along lines 5-5 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6 is an elevational view of my invention with part of the shell cut away to show the relative position of the internal parts for one position of the cam;

FIGURE 7 shows the position of the valve in the valve port when the cam and my invention are as shown in FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 shows a second cut away view of my in vention with the cam in a second position;

FIGURE 9 shows the position of the valve in the valve port with the cam and my invention as shown in FIG- URE 8;

FIGURE 10.shows a third cut away view of my invention with the cam in a third position;

FIGURE 11 shows the position of the valve in the valve port with the cam and my invention as shown in FIGURE FIGURE 12 shows a fourth cut away view of my invention With the cam in a fourth position; and

FIGURE 13 shows the position of the valve in the valve port with the cam and my invention as shown in FIGURE 12.

Referring now in more detail and by reference character to the drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present invention, A designates an automo tive engine comprising a block 1, a camshaft 2 rotatably mounted in the block 1, a cam 3 secured to the camshaft 2, a combustion chamber 4, a valve port 5 in which is seated a spring biased valve 6 including a valve stem 7,

3,1 11,113 Patented Nov. 19, 1953 a rocker arm 8 pivotally mounted on the block 1 and having tappet 9, and a bore 10 integrally provided in the block 1 between the cam 3 and the rocker arm 8 for purposes of enabling mechanical linkage between the earn 3 and the rocker arm 8. Conventionally, the biasing of the valve 6 is in the direction opposing the opening of the port 5 so that the rocker arm 8 must overcome said 'bias to open the said port. The previously described items numbered 1 through 10 inclusive are all conventional in internal combustion engines and their importance in my invention is in their cooperation and combination with the hereinafter described parts.

The letter B designates a valve lift attachment including a cylindrical shell 11, a linkage 12, a biasing spring 13, and a push rod 14.

The shell 11 is formed from solid metallic material which defines an upwardly presented cavity 15 extending into the shell 11 axially through a substantial portion thereof. The shell 11 is provided with a flat base 16 and an upper annular margin 17 which is parallel to the base 16 and is provided with a pair of opposed slots 18, 19. At the bottom 20 of the cavity 15, a plurality of bores 21 extend from the cavity 15 outwardly and downwardly through the outer wall of the shell 11. Intermediate the bottom 20 of the cavity 15 and the upper margin 17 and centrally between the slots 18, 19, the shell 11 is pro vided with a horizontally extending bore 22 for purposes presently more fully to appear.

The linkage 12 comprises a pair of spaced co-axial cylindrical sleeves 23, 24, and a pair of spaced parallel arms 25, 26, each respectively being pivotally secured at one end thereof to the complementary ends of the sleeves 23, 24, and each pivotally secured at its other end to an interconnecting cylindrical support '27. The various components of the linkage 12 are sized for disposition in the cavity 15 with the sleeves 23, 24, in nested engagement in the slots 18, and 19, respectively. *It should be here noted that the slots 18, and 19 are not diametrally aligned and define a line which is substantially displaced from the cylindrical axis of the shell 11 whereby the support 27 of the linkage 12 attains the lowest point of its pivotal movement away from the cylindrical center of the shell 11 upwardly through the center to the other side of the cavity 15, thus establishing a capability of substantial horizontal and vertical movement within the cavity 15, for purposes more presently to appear. It should be further noted that the support 27 is accessible from the top of the shell 11 while the linkage 12 is in the cavity 15. At their juncture with the support 2'7, the arms 25, 26, are respectively provided with aligned apertures 28, 29 which combine with the hollow center of the support 27 to define a passage 31 through the linkage 12.

The biasing spring 13 comprises an elongated helical coil 31 provided at one end with a retaining element 32 sized for snug fitting engagement in the bore 22 of shell 11 and at its other end the coil 31 is provided with a radially extending retaining element 33' sized for internested interlocked engagement with the linkage 12 upon insertion thereof into the passage 311. It should be here noted that the spring 13 is so sized and adjusted as to exert a biasing force on the linkage 12 such that the support 27 will be urged away from the lowest point of its arcuate swing in the cavity 15 to its uppermost position within said cavity.

The push rod 14 for the most part may be conventional in shape with the exception of its lower end 34 where it is provided with a downwardly presented U-shaped saddle 35 sized for seated engagement with the support 27 on the linkage 12. It is here to be noted that the legs 36, 37, of the saddle35 and the retaining element 33 of the spring 13 are so sized and constructed that the saddle 35 will freely be able to pivot on the support 27 without interfering with the operation of the coil 31 for purposes presently more fully to appear,

The attachment B is assembled by inserting the sleeves 23:, 2ft, into the slots 18, 19, respectively; the linkage 12 into the cavity 15' of the shell 11; the retaining element 32 of the spring 13 into the bore 22 of the shell 11; the retaining element 33 through the passage 1%) of the support 27 and into interlocked engagement with the linkage 12; and thereafter seating the saddle 35 of the push rod 14- onto the support 27.

Thereafter, the attachment B is attached to the engine A by placing the former into the bore in the block 1 'and simultaneously connecting the push rod 14 at its upper end 38 to the rocker arm 8 in the conventional manher; For purposes of illustration and not limitation, the upper end 38 of the push rod 14- and its connecting parts 39 of the rocker arm 8 have been depicted as cooperating members of a ball-joint connection which is conventional in the automotive field. It should be noted that any method now conventional for attachment of the push rod to the rocker arm may be used with my invention. It should also be here noted that the push rod 14 is so connected to the rocker arm 8 such that when the cam 3 is at the position where the shortest radius from the center to the periphery of the cam 3' is presented to the base 16 of the shell 11, the biasing spring 13 is fully extended urging the tappet 9 against the valve stem 7. As the cam 3 is rotated and the separation between cam center and cam periphery is increasing, the attachment B is urged upwardly toward the rocker arm 8, causing the push rod 14 to exert a downward force against the support 27, whereby the linkage 12 begins to pivot downwardly against the bias of the spring 13- until finally the support 27 assumes a position wherein the push rod 14 seated on the support 27 passes centrally between the sleeves 23 24, of the shell 11. After the linkage 12 is in this lowermost position, continued rotation of the earn 3 urges the attachment B upwardly as a unit exerting valve opening force to the valve 6 through the push rod 14, the rocker arm 8, the tappet 9 and the valve stem 7. As thecam 3 is continued to be rotated through and past the point of largest radius where the valve 6 is at its maximum opening in the combustion chamber 4, the support 27 andpush rod 14 remain in this position within the cavity until the cam 3 is rotated sufficiently to permit the valve 6 to close in the port 5 at which point the force presented to the push rod 14 by the spring biased Valve 6 will reduce and the spring 13' will commence to expand within the cavity 15, thus urging the support 27 upwardly and outwardly from its lowest possible position within the cavity 15. The potential energy stored in the spring 13' will continue to hold the tappet 9' snugly against the valve stem 7 as the cam 3 is rotated throughout the remainder of its cycle.

Thus it can be seen that my unique and novel inventien enhances engine performance in the following two ways:

(1) The period of time with which the valve 6 is open,

with respect to cam 3 rotation, is substantially and signif icantly reduced, and performance similar to that obtained with special racing cams in racing engines is obtained with ordinary cams in conventional engines; this increases effective horsepower of engine performance;

(2) An effective means of simultaneously accomplishing (1) above and eliminating tappet-stem separation and v resulting noise in factory engines is obtained.

combination of parts of the valve lift attachment may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the nature and principle of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is set forth in the following claims: 7

l. A valve lift attachment, for use in an internal combustion engine provided with a block, cam means rotatably mounted in said block, rocker arm means pivotally mounted on said block and adapted for opening normally-closed valve means upon pivotal movement of said rocker arm means, and an access bore in said block for establishing mechanical communication between said rocker arm means and said cam means, said valve lift attachment comprising an elongated cylindrical shell disposed in said access bore and including an axially extending cavity, support means pivotally mounted on said shell and disposed in said cavity, a push rod disposed on said support means and operatively connected to the rocker arm means, said push rod and support means both being disposed within said cavity, and each being radially and axially moveable with respect to the cylindrical shell, and biasing means for retaining continued mechanical contact between said cam means, shell, support means, push rod, rocker arm means, and valve means as said cam is rotated.

2. A valve lift attachment comprising an elongated cylindrical shell having an axially extending cavity, a pair of spaced aligned members seated in the wall of said shell defined by the cavity, a support pivotally connected to the aligned members, a push rod mounted on the support, and a spring operatively connected to the wall and the support.

3. A valve lift attachment comprising an elongated cylindrical shell having an axially extending cavity, a pair of spaced aligned members seated in the wall of said shell defined by the cavity, a support pivotally connected to the aligned members, said members defining an axis of pivotal movement for the support which is radially displaced from the cylindrical axis of the shell, a push rod mounted on the support, and a spring operatively connected to the wall and the support.

4. A valve lift attachment comprising an elongated cylindrical shell having an axially extending cavity, a pair of spaced aligned members seated in the wall of said shell defined by the cavity, a support pivotally connected to the aligned members, said members defining an axis of pivotal movement for the support which is radially displaced from and perpendicular to the cylindrical axis of the shell, a push rod mounted on the support, and a spring operatively connected to the wall and the support.

5. A valve lift attachment comprising an elongated cylindrical shell having an axially extending cavity, a pair of spaced aligned members seated in the wall of said shell defined by the cavity, a support pivotally connected to the aligned members, a push rod mounted on the support, a spring operatively connected to the wall and the support, and drainage means to prevent the accumulation of sludge within the cavity.

6. A valve lift attachment comprising an elongated cylindrical shell having an axially extending cavity, a pair of spaced aligned members seated in the wall of said shell defined by the cavity, a support pivotally connected to the aligned members, a push rod mounted on the support, a spring operatively connected to the wall and the support, and a plurality of spaced bores which extend into the cavity from the outer wall of said shell whereby to prevent the accumulation of oil sludge therein.

7. A valve lift attachment comprising an elongated shell provided with a thin elongated wall which defines a cavity, a support pivotally mounted on the wall, and movable within said cavity, a spring connected to said wall and said support, and a push rod disposed on the support within the cavity and being movable with the support within the cavity.

8. A valve lift attachment comprising an elongated cylindrical shell provided with a thin elongated cylindrical Wall which defines a cavity, a support pivotally mounted on the wall and movable in radial and axial directions within the cavity, a spring connected to the Wall and to the support, and a push rod disposed on the support Within the cavity and being movable With the support within the cavity.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS French Jan. 8, 1929 Jencick June 4, 1935 Fisk May 3, 1938 Zahodiakin May 24, 1938 Priest July 20, 1948 Pearman Nov. 22, 1955 

1. A VALVE LIFT ATTACHMENT, FOR USE IN AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE PROVIDED WITH A BLOCK, CAM MEANS ROTATABLY MOUNTED IN SAID BLOCK, ROCKER ARM MEANS PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID BLOCK AND ADAPTED FOR OPENING NORMALLY-CLOSED VALVE MEANS UPON PIVOTAL MOVEMENT OF SAID ROCKER ARM MEANS, AND AN ACCESS BORE IN SAID BLOCK FOR ESTABLISHING MECHANICAL COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SAID ROCKER ARM MEANS AND SAID CAM MEANS, SAID VALVE LIFT ATTACHMENT COMPRISING AN ELONGATED CYLINDRICAL SHELL DISPOSED IN SAID ACCESS BORE AND INCLUDING AN AXIALLY EXTENDING CAVITY, SUPPORT MEANS PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID SHELL AND DISPOSED IN SAID CAVITY, A PUSH ROD DISPOSED ON SAID SUPPORT MEANS AND OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO THE ROCKER ARM MEANS, SAID PUSH ROD AND SUPPORT MEANS BOTH BEING DISPOSED WITHIN SAID CAVITY, AND EACH BEING RADIALLY AND AXIALLY MOVEABLE WITH RESPECT TO THE CYLINDRICAL SHELL, AND BIASING MEANS FOR RETAINING CONTINUED MECHANICAL CONTACT BETWEEN SAID CAM MEANS, SHELL, SUPPORT MEANS, PUSH ROD, ROCKER ARM MEANS, AND VALVE MEANS AS SAID CAM IS ROTATED. 